1763.
Gideon Seymour, cutpurse and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine -- and Kate and Peter's only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Kate,... (show more)
1763.
Gideon Seymour, cutpurse and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine -- and Kate and Peter's only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Kate, and Peter are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.
Very refreshing time travel novel - we get to see the protagonists cope with being accidently sent to 1763 while also reading about how their famil... (show more)
Very refreshing time travel novel - we get to see the protagonists cope with being accidently sent to 1763 while also reading about how their families and a jaded inspector desperately try to figure out how to get them back to the 21st century. (show less)
It would probably improve from being 30% shorter with a lot of the maudlin hand-wringing and redundant scenes removed, but what was most disappoint... (show more)
It would probably improve from being 30% shorter with a lot of the maudlin hand-wringing and redundant scenes removed, but what was most disappointing about the book for me was its treatment of the main character who starts out an impulsive spoiled whining brat and manages to stay that way throughout the book, culminating in an impulsive whining stupid decision of his that occasions the need for the book to become part one of a surprise trilogy that lacks any kind of reasonable payoff.
Nearly every scene in the book gets repeated in some fashion down the road, like the author forgot she already wrote a scene about being captured by bandits or a scene where the inspector suspects someone is lying to him, etc. And to top it off, none of the characters seem to have changed or grown in any appreciable way when it's over.
There are far better YA/crossover books out there and there are far, far better books about time travel. . (show less)
Something that really confuses me is the switch of the name from Gideon the Cutpurse to The Time Travelers. It makes it very confusing when you want to find it at a bookstore. Apparently the sequel, The Time Thief, was originally going to be called The Tar Man. At least that book wasn't released under that name. I've spent enough time on the name of the book. Here's what I thought of the actual book.
Anyway, this is an excellent read. The constant switching of viewpoints from the eighteent... (show more)
Something that really confuses me is the switch of the name from Gideon the Cutpurse to The Time Travelers. It makes it very confusing when you want to find it at a bookstore. Apparently the sequel, The Time Thief, was originally going to be called The Tar Man. At least that book wasn't released under that name. I've spent enough time on the name of the book. Here's what I thought of the actual book.
Anyway, this is an excellent read. The constant switching of viewpoints from the eighteenth century back to the twenty-first century could be confusing for some, but I found it very fun. It was amusing to see the 18th/21st century connections, such as the Byng's home being Kate's school. The characters were very vivid. As an American reading the book, it can be difficult to understand the British English words. Also, the fast-paced speed of the book can leave you flipping the pages as fast as you can. (show less)
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A good yarn. Engaging and with enough twists to keep me from getting bored. Elements of science fiction frame what is essentially a historical adventure story. Some likable characters and some who are loathable.
The science elements were a bit thinly presented, and failed to sell me on their credibility. (I don't need to be convinced that the science could be real - just that it be given some decent attempt at explanation, and that it be self consistent.) The language barrier should have be... (show more)
A good yarn. Engaging and with enough twists to keep me from getting bored. Elements of science fiction frame what is essentially a historical adventure story. Some likable characters and some who are loathable.
The science elements were a bit thinly presented, and failed to sell me on their credibility. (I don't need to be convinced that the science could be real - just that it be given some decent attempt at explanation, and that it be self consistent.) The language barrier should have been a bigger problem, and the fact that it wasn't irritated me. I also had some problems with the coincidence factor. Too many strangers too willing to help. And just the right people, too, who were able to give the heroes such a fabulous tour of the must-see attractions in 18th century England.
In any good adventure, the story needs to drag the characters through some number of harrowing predicaments, and they work better for me when the escapes from danger are as much clever as they are heroic. I had a small problem in this case because several of the escapes were too similar in nature, and the big one was a bit of a let-down. It was fun, and a bit whimsical maybe, but by no means the best plan, given the resources they had to work with. So Buckley-Archer has sold me an ending that was strong on eye-candy, but ultimately, I thought it sold out the authenticity of the characters to achieve that.
A number of storylines are not resolved, which is fine in the case of a declared trilogy, and I look forward to seeing how they get handled. Although, I fear it will be in a similarly 3-out-of-5-star way. (show less)
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